Monaco: Out-of-favour Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh said that he would continue to play cricket until 2019 after which he will take a call on his career.
The dashing Punjab cricketer last played for India in an ODI in 2017 and he feels that a good strong show in the upcoming IPL can help him be in the reckoning for a spot in the World Cup in 2019.
“I am looking forward to a good IPL. It’s a very important tournament for me as it will only set me to play cricket till 2019. I am looking to play cricket till 2019, whatever cricket I get to play and take a call after that,” said Yuvraj on the sidelines of the 18th Laureus World Sports Awards.
Yuvraj, who was a regular member of the Indian setup till the 2011 World Cup had suffered a rare germ cell cancer which had put his career in jeopardy. The southpaw, however regrets the fact that he couldn’t cement his spot in the Test side.
He said, “Definitely, in the first 6-7 years of my career when I was at my best I did not get a lot of opportunities because there were such great players in the (Test) team and when I got an opportunity I was diagnosed with cancer. So that regret will always be there but these things are never in my control. I am just looking forward to whatever cricket I get to play.”
The 36-year-old also praised Virat Kohli and his team for the way they bounced back in both the ODI and T20I series’ after a disappointing 2-1 loss in the Tests.
“”I think it is a pretty great performance. They showed a lot of character after losing the Test series. It was as a hard-fought Test series, could have gone either way. But it was a very convincing win in the ODI series. Kohli led from the front with some big runs,” said Yuvraj, who is in Monaco as Laureus ambassador from India.
He added, “Spinners bowled very well especially Kuldeep (Yadav) and (Yuzvendra) Chahal and got South Africa into trouble. And then they stepped on the gas and won the T20 series 2-1. Going abroad playing three series winning two definitely shows India’s dominance.”
After ending the South African sojourn on a high, Kohli and co have set their sights on conquering England and Australia but Yuvraj feels that India needs some consistent performers in order to achieve that.
“It’s a good start to believe that you can dominate outside. If you can consistently do that in England and Australia you definitely will have the belief,” he opined.
“Now the team is set to conquer the world. England and Australia will be testing series but if we can get some consistent performances it will give a lot of self-belief to the players,” he added further.
A person who has risen up the ranks through age-group cricket, Yuvraj had some words of advice for the likes of Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw, who were bargain buys in the IPL auctions.
“The more they get better the more money they will earn. So they don’t have to worry about money. They have to focus on how quickly they can do better and play for India.
“I think Prithvi, Shubman, Abhishek Sharma are great talents and hopefully in the next coming years we will see them play for India. I am sure the IPL will give them a great platform to learn from other international players and feel the hype of international cricket. So it’s very important tournament for them and they should enjoy it,” he signed off saying.